Clearing & settlement
For Trading and settlement platforms

C&S is the process where a transaction is actually executed. In case of a sale of shares by party A to party B, this means that party A has received the funds in its account and that party Bhas obtained ownership of the shares.

In most cases, this process concerns the settlement of transactions concluded in a regulated market or on a multilateral trading facility (MTF). However, transactions concluded between two parties outside the trading platforms (known as (Over-The-Counter transactions, or OTC), also have to be settled. The process for these transactions is more or less similar.

Since all transactions must go through the C&S process (at least to some extent), this is also referred to as the infrastructure or the pipeline system of the financial market. Post-trading is another frequently used term. The Dutch translation of ‘clearing’ is ‘verrekening’ and of ‘settlement’ is ‘verevening’. These terms are only used in a legal context and are not exact equivalents in practical use.